New collar workforce emphasizes skills over college degrees

This week, Industry Week took a look at the current modern manufacturing environment, focusing on what matters most when it comes to building a strong workforce. The consensus is that it’s time to update the blue-collar/white-collar approach to the workforce. It is time to recognize that it is “skills and ability—not academic pedigree—that matter most.”

WorkingNation president Jane Oates was interviewed for the article, and explains the importance of taking this approach—the new collar worker—for the sake of businesses and workers. “The terms blue- and white-collars jobs don’t make sense in today’s job market. They are outdated,” says Oates.

“Different forms of education can lead to rewarding jobs, Oates says. And manufacturing is one of the industries that address all of these issues. Many companies are offering apprenticeships and other training opportunities to bring new people into the field, which has greatly improved its image.”

Oates praises “the work of the National Association of Manufacturers for moving the perception of the industry from dark, dangerous and dirty to clean, high-tech and exciting.

MISSION

We tell stories about solutions to the jobs skills gap that is threatening to disrupt our economy. We are raising this critical issue to the level of a national discussion to reach people and entities that can effect change, to connect the dots for companies and communities looking for solutions to their own workforce issues, and to identify for workers and job seekers where the jobs of the future will be.